Author: Jim Duncan

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Crozet Park Proposed Huge Addition

via email

The Crozet Park Developer continues to pursue changes in the zoning rules that will allow them to build a for profit athletic center in a public park. What the developer proposes is not a building compatible with the location or surrounding neighborhoods – rather the complex is a way out of scale for the field in which it is proposed. In fact, the athletic center is more comparable to the Harris Teeter on Rte. 250 with all of its parking then any building in a 22 acre park should be.

The developer is requesting that it be granted the right to add more traffic on the local roads that are already over taxed and acknowledge what changes to the roads will have to done will be determined after it has this right.


The developer is asking for a zoning exemption to build its building closer to neighboring properties than is allowed. The developer justifies its position not by accommodating the required setback but, instead by changing the measuring points without regard to how it impacts the rights of the adjacent neighbors.


The developer’s proposal includes the intention to buy Nutrient credits rather than deal with Storm Water run-off created by its elimination of green space even though this was a specific criticism of its earlier submission.


The developer’s presentation includes new charts and renderings that rely on exceptional artistic license and appears to circumvent the criticisms raised by the Planning Commission who disapproved the proposal in March 2021.


The Planning Staff issued a point by point criticism of the project in March based on the comments from the Planning Commissioners which the developer has avoided addressing directing. On the following pages is an annotated version of the complete text of the Commission’s March comments.

Read the PDF Here.

THIS LETTER FROM THE COUNTY OMITS STRONG COMMISSIONER COMMENTS REGARDING THE LACK OF OUTREACH BY THE PARK TO COMMUNICATE WITH ITS NEIGHBORS.


THE PARK HAS NOT ASKED TO MEET WITH THE PARKSIDE VILLAGE BOARD OR RESIDENTS OF HILLTOP STREET.

Important Disclosure: I live in the neighborhood adjacent to Crozet Park. I have my opinions about the project, but I’ll not share them here.

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Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival – Fall 2021 – 9 & 10 October

via email:

CROZET, VA Over 120 Artists and Exhibitors are coming back to Crozet Park for the 41st Annual Crozet Fall Arts and Crafts Festival! Recognized as one of the region’s leading fine arts and craft shows, the Crozet Arts & Craft Festival will be held rain or shine Saturday and Sunday, October 9th and 10th from 10 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday.
 
Safety is a priority for this socially-distanced, outdoor event. The Festival will implement COVID safety protocols, such as social distancing markers and additional hand sanitizing stations. The outdoor festival grounds and parking areas at Crozet Park allow for artists and patrons plenty of room for social distancing.
 
Artists: Top artists from across the country vied to be a part of the 41st bi-annual Crozet Art & Craft Festival on Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day weekend. From a large pool of creative candidates, a panel of talented and professional artist jurors chose the best in each arts category. Many new artists will join the seasoned and returning favorites of the past.

This year’s exhibitors will bring to Crozet an array of stunning jewelry, trendsetting apparel and leather, magnificent artwork, photography and exceptionally crafted glass, ceramics, sculpture, and more. Festival guests will find something for almost every taste and pocketbook, ranging from affordable gift giving to heirloom investments.

Music: The festival’s fine arts and crafts will be complemented by a variety of types and styles of popular local musicians playing throughout the days. On Saturday we welcome Driftwood Radio, The Skyline Country Cloggers, Wicked Olde, and The Sweet Potatoes. Performing on Sunday are Victoria Lee, Orta Vez, and Jackson Cunningham.
 
Food & Beer: An appetizing selection of Food Trucks will be complemented by beer from Starr-Hill Brewery and Three Roads Brewing Company and wine from Stinson Vineyards and Kings Family Vineyards. 
 
Kids’ Area: The children’s area includes beloved musical guests Kim and Jimbo Cary, crafts with The Hive, balloon animals, and more! 

Crozet Park treats exhibitors and guests to a most relaxing, accessible setting. Located just off the Route 64 bypass, take exit #107 west of Charlottesville by 20 minutes, Crozet Park is a beautiful, community-owned non-profit park that is the beneficiary of these Art Festival Events.

Volunteering for Crozet Park Art & Craft Festival is easy and fun with sign ups at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0e48a4af2ea75-crozet12

Tickets are $7 and children under 12 are free. Our event is pet-friendly! Everyone is encouraged to purchase their ticket online this year ahead of time to help with Covid safety. Tickets are available at: https://buytickets.at/crozetartsandcraftsfestival
Parking is free. 

For more information please visit https://www.crozetfestival.com/
Ewa Harr is the current director of the event. 

It’s going to be interesting to see how the Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival evolves and grows when the Crozet Park growth plans are underway.

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Crozet Master Plan Slowly Moving Forward

From Alison Wrabel with the Daily Progress. (read the whole thing). Interesting times in Crozet as we try to balance growth, affordable housing, infrastructure …. basically all the stuff that affects us every day. I wonder how many of us attended the Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night?

The draft of the updated Crozet Master Plan took another step forward Tuesday night.

The Albemarle County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the updated Crozet Master Plan with one change — land near downtown that had previously had its possible density increased in the future land use map was recommended to be reduced.

The Crozet community and Albemarle County began updating the Crozet Master Plan in 2019, which helps to guide decisions about land use, transportation and parks in the area, and the draft will now move forward to the Board of Supervisors. The board is scheduled to hold its public hearing virtually at 6 p.m. Oct. 20.

When adopted, the Master Plan will be part of Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan, which guides the county’s long-term vision for land use and resource protection. County staff and supervisors look to the Comprehensive Plan as part of the rezoning process, but it is not law.

The process has been contentious, especially around population growth and infrastructure issues around roads, schools and sidewalks in Crozet, which has seen its population increase from about 5,565 in 2010 to approximately 9,224 in 2020, according to census data.

…

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Crozet Master Plan Public Hearing – 14 September 2021

This thing is going to come to fruition sooner rather than later.

From Sean Tubbs’ outstanding week ahead email (read the whole thing, and subscribe if you can). Heck, ask me, and I’ll buy you one. It’s $50/year and if you’re interested in learning more and supporting local news, I’d welcome that opportunity.

Crozet Master Plan public hearing

The Albemarle County Planning Commission meets virtually at 6 p.m. There are two public hearings. (meeting info)

In the first, the Field School is requesting an amendment to a special use permit that requires them to begin construction of their new facility on Barracks Road. The Board of Supervisors approved a permit in March 2017 for a new school to be constructed on land in the rural area. The terms of the approval state the new building has to be under construction by the end of February 2022. 

“Construction plans to establish the new Field School Campus on the property were put on hold as the global pandemic created a great deal of uncertainty for future funding opportunities and general construction feasibility,” reads the narrative by Shimp Engineering. “Field School of Charlottesville looks forward to continue working towards creating its new campus on the property and in light of some funding setbacks and the global COVID-19 pandemic; respectfully requests more time to bring this long-anticipated and worked-for vision to fruition.” 

Conceptual layout for the new Field School (Credit: Shimp Engineering)

The Field School currently operates out of the old Crozet High School, which is addressed in the draft version of the Crozet Master Plan.

“The County should solicit community input to help determine an appropriate use of the school building and adjacent grounds,” reads page LU-25 of the plan. “Consideration should be given to uses that support the County’s goals for Affordable Housing, school needs, and uses that provide historic and cultural programming.”

However, I suspect that is not the kind of input the Planning Commission will hear at the public hearing on the plan. Comprehensive Planning can tend to bring forward strong opinions about the future of communities as we’ve seen with the Cville Plans Together initiative and during the Crozet plan’s review. 

Crozet is one of several designated growth areas in Albemarle and the first master plan was adopted in December 2004 as a subsection of the county’s Comprehensive Plan. 

The Board of Supervisors approved an update in October 2010. The idea is to review these plans every five years, but an update was delayed as work continued on other master plans such as one for Pantops and the Rio-29 Small Area Plan. In recent years, Albemarle has conducted this planning work in-house. 

This update finally got underway with a community visioning process followed by many input sessions with the Crozet Community Advisory Committee. The Board of Supervisors reviewed a nearly complete draft in early August. 

“The Board of Supervisors reviewed the draft Master Plan and agreed with the majority of the Planning Commission’s implementation recommendations,” reads the staff report. 

To achieve the land use goal of creating more units that qualify under county guidelines as affordable housing, staff has created the land use category of “middle density residential” to have a range of between six to 12 units per acre, with up to 18 if below-market affordable housing is guaranteed. Some stories about what’s been going on: 

“The Board discussed the application of the Middle Density Residential land use category both throughout Crozet and specifically to the block bounded by Tabor Street, Crozet Avenue, Dunvegan Lane, and High Street,” the staff report continues. “They directed staff to leave the future land use plan as is for the public hearing process to allow for additional community and Planning Commission feedback on the proposed change to the Tabor Street block.”

This will be an interesting story to write. 

Current Future Land Use Map for the Crozet Land Use Map (Credit: Albemarle County)
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Beaver Creek Public Meeting – 6 October 2021

Beaver Creek Reservoir

via email

A virtual meeting is being conducted on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 6:00 PM EST to discuss the Beaver Creek Watershed Structure No. 1 Planning Study.  The project team will update the public on the status of the project, present the evaluated spillway upgrade alternatives and describe the sponsors preferred alternative. The project is located in Albemarle County approximately one-half mile north-northwest of the intersection of Browns Gap Turnpike/VA-680 and Three Notched Road/VA-240 and involves the rehabilitation of Beaver Creek Dam No. 1 to meet State and Federal requirements for high-hazard dams.  The multi-purpose Beaver Creek Reservoir No. 1, operated by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA), serves as the sole municipal water supply for the Crozet Area in Albemarle County.

This meeting will be held virtually using the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting location will be posted to RWSA’s website at https://www.rivanna.org/rwsa-projects-map/beaver-creek-improvements/. Residents and interested parties will have the opportunity to ask questions and express any concerns about the project to the team. Following the meeting, the presentation will be posted to RWSA’s website for anyone who is unable to attend live. Questions and comments will be received until October 20, 2021. Additional details for accessing the recorded meeting and submitting feedback will be provided during the live presentation and posted to RWSA’s website.

The previous meeting was in December 2020.

Great recent story from Crozet Gazette about Crozet’s future water supply.

click through to read the whole thing.

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) presented an update on our drinking water supply and production, wastewater treatment, and local projects in progress for the Crozet area. RWSA Executive Director Bill Mawyer described $41.5 million in projects, ranging from those just completed (such as improvements to the water treatment plant and filtration system) to those on the horizon such as a new Beaver Creek Reservoir pump station and improvements to the Beaver Creek Dam scheduled for 2024-2026. These projects are paid for by all customers of the Albemarle County Service Authority via their water bills.

The Beaver Creek dam, pump station, and piping modification needs are driven by upgrades required by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s dam safety standards. The project will replace the major infrastructure elements that carry water to Crozet’s water treatment plant and will install a new labyrinth spillway in the dam at a total cost of $27 million.

Mawyer noted two bits of news that may alleviate the concerns of Beaver Creek area residents.

One issue is the construction-related closure of the road that runs across the dam, which would send traffic from Browns Gap Turnpike on a long detour via White Hall Road. “We’ve had some meetings and conversations with our consultants about closing that road and we are now thinking we can build a temporary road actually on the water side of the dam and maintain traffic during construction,” he said. “There was talk about building a detour road around the lower side of the dam that was going to be very difficult and expensive, but now we’re much more optimistic that we can build a road on the inside of the dam. We’ll keep you informed about that.”

Courtesy RWSA.

Mawyer also discussed potential sites for the new raw water pumping station that will have to be located just off shore in the reservoir just above the dam. “At one time we were looking at a site adjacent to the Clark family’s property but we’ve done more research into the property, the topography, and the cost and now we’re focusing on two other sites [that sit closer to the dam], so hopefully that will work out.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will also weigh in on the new site locations as the RWSA is asking that agency to foot 65% of the bill for the dam project.

As for Crozet’s water supply, Beaver Creek Reservoir’s water pool is currently two feet below normal levels, and is 85% full with about 430 million gallons of water (usable supply). The community’s water demand is 0.5 to 1.1 million gallons per day, and Mawyer said the reservoir currently holds about seven months’ worth of storage with no additional inflow. 

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Crozet Master Plan Review (2021)

First, from Sean Tubbs’ Charlottesville Community Engagement

The Crozet Master Plan is part of Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan and an update has been in development for the past two years. The draft has been produced internally by planners in the Albemarle Department of Community Development and is similar in design to the Rio Road / 29 Small Area Plan and the update of the Pantops Master Plan. There are five chapters in the 137-page plan. A questionnaire is open through September 14, which is also the day of the public hearing before the Albemarle Planning Commission. The Board of Supervisors will hold their public hearing on October 20. (read the draft here)

And from Albemarle County

The Draft Crozet Master Plan is Complete — Read the Plan, Share Your Feedback, and Attend the Public Hearings

Since September 2019, Albemarle County has been exploring, alongside the Crozet community, how to best reflect the community’s vision for the future of Crozet in the latest update to the Crozet Master Plan. The Crozet Master Plan includes 5 chapters: Introduction, Transportation, Land Use, Conservation, and Implementation.

This summer, community members shared their priorities for recommended projects in the Implementation Chapter and shared feedback on an earlier draft Master Plan. Community members participated through an online questionnaire, at virtual Crozet Community Advisory Committee meetings, and in-person at community pop-ups. The latest draft Master Plan that incorporates comments and feedback is now available to review online!

Online Questionnaire

Through Tuesday, September 14th 
Review the draft plan and share your feedback via the online questionnaire.

You may also submit your comments directly to Rachel Falkenstein, Planning Manager [email protected]

Your feedback will be shared with the Albemarle County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors at upcoming public hearings.

Public Hearings

You are welcome to attend these public hearings which will be held virtually (meeting access information will be added to the County calendar soon):
Planning Commission Public Hearing – Tuesday, September 14th at 6pm
Board of Supervisors Public Hearing – Wednesday, October 20th at 6pm
What Is a Master Plan? 

A Master Plan is a collaboratively developed document that describes a community’s vision for future development, using text, maps, and diagrams. In Albemarle County, Master Plans are used to guide future public and private development and to coordinate and prepare more detailed plans.   

Master Plan Update Process 
The public participation process for the Crozet Master Plan includes four phases:
– Phase 1 focused on updating the community’s vision and guiding principles that lay the foundation for the Master Plan document.
– Phase 2 involved Focus Area Input and Design Strategies. During this phase, staff worked with the community to identify specific recommendations and associated updates to maps on the topics of Character/Land Use, Connectivity/ Transportation, Conservation/ Parks & Green Systems, and Implementation.
– Phase 3 consisted of a period of recommendations drafting and refinement.
– Phase 4 (current phase) will include drafting each chapter and taking the Final Master Plan Draft through public comment, public hearings, and approval processes.   

Community Engagement
View the Community Engagement home for this project, available at publicinput.com/imaginecrozet to view previous feedback opportunities and catch up on the project’s progress to date.
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Should Crozet Become a Town? (2021 version)

Alison Wrabel has a fantastic story about whether Crozet could become a town. Please read it the whole thing, and not just this snippet.

Some Crozet residents are still agitated by the final draft of a plan to help guide future growth in the area, and some want to seriously look at what it would take to become a town.

In 2019, the community and Albemarle County began updating the Crozet Master Plan, which helps to guide decisions about land use, transportation and parks in the area, and the draft will be the topic of a county Planning Commission hearing next month.

An online questionnaire is available until Sept. 14 for community members to view and provide feedback on the draft at publicinput.com/M8451. Comments also may be submitted directly to Albemarle Planning Manager Rachel Falkenstein at [email protected].

The Planning Commission will hold its public hearing virtually at 6 p.m. Sept. 14. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold its public hearing virtually at 6 p.m. Oct. 20.

At a recent meeting of the Crozet Community Advisory Committee — a group appointed by the Board of Supervisors to provide assistance, feedback and input to county staff and the board on efforts around the area’s Master Plan — several members and area residents expressed dissatisfaction with the process and the final draft of the updated plan.

When adopted, the Master Plan will be part of Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan, which guides the county’s long-term vision for land use and resource protection. County staff and supervisors look to the Comprehensive Plan as part of the rezoning process.

Some Crozet residents have expressed frustration with the area’s growing population and infrastructure issues around roads, schools and sidewalks.

Related stories

If you can, watch the most recent CCAC meeting where this was discussed.

An interesting and relevant thought on the “Middle Density” discussion:

Density can be better for the climate.

The key to this lower level of emissions is density. Concentrating people, businesses, and services makes public transportation more feasible, apartment buildings (which are generally more energy-efficient than single-family homes) more common, and ultimately preserves more land.

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Reservoirs are Low

Beaver-Creek-10-August

I think about our water supply every time I see a sidewalk being watered. And when I drink water.

Sugar Hollow on the left, on 2 August. Beaver Creek on the right, 10 August #FromTheBicycle

From yesterday’s Charlottesville Community Engagement email

At the top of the meeting, Supervisor Ann Mallek wanted people who don’t live in the rural area to know there’s a problem.

“Urban people who have not been out in the countryside may not be aware of how severe this dryness is,” Mallek said. “We have streams drying up all over the place in the countryside and pastures are gone, hayfields are gone, cornfields are gone.” 

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Albemarle County is either in the Abnormally Dry or Moderate Drought. All of Nelson County is marked as Moderate Drought, while Fluvanna and Greene counties are Abnormally Dry. 

Mallek warned that the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority be clear in reporting conditions to the city of Charlottesville and the Albemarle County Service Authority. 

“If we don’t start getting rain there is going to be a precipitous drop in supply,” Malelk said. “It happens very fast, like two, three, four feet a day at South Fork [reservoir] when things get to that saturation point.”

According to today’s water report from the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, South Rivanna is full, as is the Totier Creek reservoir that serves Scottsville. Sugar Hollow is down over ten feet and Ragged Mountain is 2.31 feet below the usual level.

Good Twitter discussion, too.

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Running and Riding in Crozet

Mornings like this are a reminder of what an amazing place Crozet is. As we were descending Newtown Road this morning, we passed another group of riders starting the climb.

Luckily, the deer to our right stayed where he was.

As we passed countless people running, we all waved, as we started our mornings in one of the best ways possible – experiencing the outdoors, running, riding, walking in the humid summer morning. (ironically humid, as we’re in a drought)

Just a reminder of how nice Crozet is.

Two related items

On July 1, 2021, a new law goes into effect in Virginia that allows bicyclists to ride two abreast and requires motorists to change lanes to pass. Bicyclists are still expected to ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway when conditions allow. Also, the law states that riders on a highway shall not ride more than two abreast, so group riders need to follow this restriction.

The law already requires motorists to pass at a reasonable speed at least three feet to the left of an overtaken bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, moped, animal, or animal-drawn vehicle proceeding in the same direction. It also allows motorists to cross a double yellow line to pass and provide the three feet margin of safety.

In short, the new law is not changing passing or lane use requirements significantly. Also, this type of statute is common in many states and has proven useful over decades of experience in the United States and abroad.

Allowing bicyclists to ride two abreast provides advantages to motorists and riders:

First, a group of riders riding two abreast is far more visible to drivers.

Second, a more compact group of two-abreast cyclists can make passing easier and more predictable. A two-abreast formation is approximately the width of a car, and cars should pass them as if they were passing a slower automobile.

Third, riders can see dangers that limit the room for passing before a trailing driver will. Riding two abreast—and “taking the lane” if riding alone—sends a message that some caution by motorists is in order. Whether a blind curve, approaching traffic, an obstacle in the road, or a narrowing lane, riders signal the danger by moving to the left or riding two abreast. This protects the cyclists and helps motorists avoid improperly passing and causing a crash or forcing the bicyclists off the road.

The key is for motorists and riders–whether an individual, a pair, or a larger group–to be considerate, bike/drive defensively, and stay alert at all times. Other bikers overtaking slower riders on the roads need to be similarly considerate and careful when passing.

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Crozet Trails Crew – Party at Mint Springs 7-18-2021

via email. This will be a lot of fun, with one of the best things about Crozet.

The Crozet Trails Crew invites the community to Mint Springs Park on Sunday at 4:00 to celebrate and dedicate the new amphitheater, built by the crew and paid for by Paul McCartney!


We’ll have an interesting story about the stage, pizza and lemonade, trail maps and advice, and music by the Crozet Jam Band led by Jim Pyles. Plus it’s your chance to find out more about the Crozet Greenway system, what we’re planning, and how you can help. 

And meet Bigfoot! 


All the details on their web site at CrozetTrailsCrew.org